Eagles stayin’ alive

POCATELLO – Eastern Washington jumped out to a 22-4 lead during the first 8 minutes on Thursday night and never looked back, beating Idaho State 87-73 to keep their slim Big Sky men’s basketball tournament hopes alive. Fueling the Eagles’ fast start was their shooting prowess beyond the arc, where they were 9 of 14 during the first half alone, eclipsing their season average of eight 3-pointers a game. They finished 14 of 26 for the game, including 6 of 10 from sophomore guard Parker Kelly, who led all players with 28 points, and redshirt freshman Tyler Harvey, who made 5 of 9 3-pointers en route to 17 points. Idaho State (5-24, 4-15) fell behind by as many as 21 points during the first half but managed to close the gap to 14 by halftime. Eastern Washington (10-20, 7-12) pushed the lead back to 21 points in the second half. The victory, coupled with losses by both Northern Arizona and Sacramento State, kept EWU in the hunt for the postseason. But for that to happen, EWU still needs a win in its final game at Weber State, as well as losses by North Dakota, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State in their finales. EWU sophomore Martin Seiferth had 13 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in just 19 minutes, and freshman Venky Jois chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.